Dempo SC formally announce withdrawal from I-League

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Five-time champions Dempo Sports Club have formally announced their withdrawal from the oncoming I-League season 2016-17 on Wednesday.

Dempo SC confirmed that they will not be the part of the next edition of I-League, India's premier soccer competition.

"Dempo will not be a part of the I-League. A decision has already been taken," said a senior official.

As per a report, the formal communication from Dempo SCstates that:

"Our decision at Dempo Sports Club on participating in the ensuing I-League (2016-17) has been carefully discussed and evaluated by the club management during the last few months.

Since the time we fielded a team in the Goa League fifty years back, our primary objective has been to contribute to the development of football in Goa and in India.

To that end, Dempo Sports Club has been the most successful football club in India in the last 15 years, having won the National Football League (NFL) and the I-League five times and all the major football tournaments in the country, besides contributing a substantial number of players to the Indian national team.